


Series

by pretentiousasshole



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 14:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3653436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretentiousasshole/pseuds/pretentiousasshole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A selection of vignettes about Levi and Erwin.<br/>WARNING- does contain spoilers about Mike Zacharias.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Series

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve, if I missed something that has to do with spelling, grammar and OOC please do tell! I want to be the best for my dear readers!

“I’m cursed… But you know that, don’t you, Levi?” he always asks at the most silent moment, when each is immersed in their own thoughts and Levi always nods and replies.  
“Yes.”

Levi is not one to lie. In fact, it is one of the attributes that he prided in himself the most. The fact that he is brutally honest in a world of dishonest kings and military men makes him feel somehow above it all. Of course he isn’t, he knows that, he just likes to feel that way.  
So when he walks into his Commander’s room, with the fire slowly gasping out and the mounds of paperwork that are as tall as titans and Erwin’s brow souring with the unwholesome job that he is condemned to do, Levi does not lie and try to console himself that everything is alright. It is not. He can see it eating away at both of them, slowly embedding itself into their routines, their daily lives. He can see it in Erwin’s eyes as he tips his head to look at him. He is sure Erwin can see it in his eyes, too, that sure possibility that everything they have done is in vain.

“Get up, old man,” he drawls “You shouldn’t be sleeping on the job.”  
Erwin peels his head off his desk and looks at him in surprise, as if he didn’t realize that he was asleep. Wiping the drool off his face, he smiles at Levi.  
“Ugh, you’re gross. It makes me wonder why I keep spending time with you,” Levi says and Erwin chuckles and stretches.  
“Me too,” Erwin says. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. I must be getting old.”  
“I can,” Levi says and picks up Erwin’s coat that is lying on the floor next to him. “It’s fricking two a.m., and I’m tired of sleeping alone so get your ass off of that chair and let’s go home.” He throws the coat and Erwin catches it.  
“Oh,” says Erwin and he rubs his temples. “Look, I wish I could, but I need this to be submitted to Pixis by tomorrow.”  
Levi frowns and crosses his arms. “It’s only for tonight.”  
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll be home tomorrow, I promise.” Levi nods and leaves, shutting the door behind him.  
That is the twentieth ‘I promise’ that month.

Erwin does not dream much. People would probably say that if he dreamt his dreams would be nightmares, filled with all the people that he had killed so cruelly. However, this is not true. Erwin rarely has nightmares, if at all. When he dreams, his mind wanders to things his body forbids.  
He dreams of soft, calloused hands and black hair. He dreams of a black eyes and a catlike grin. He dreams with the ferocity of an animal, and tears and claws at the seams of it all just to not wake up.  
“What did you dream about?” Levi asks him one morning and Erwin laughs.  
“You,” he says and Levi grumbles about how corny he is and Erwin pecks him with a kiss on the forehead.  
In the hospital, all he can smell was antiseptic and urine and sweat. Most of the rooms are filled with dying men, some bitten almost in half and others who are dying of disease. It makes Levi’s skin crawl to spend even a moment in this place, but they put Erwin in here, so it was here that Levi will go.  
Erwin is lying in bed, the sheet pulled up to his chin as if to hide the wound. Levi’s nose prickles. He expects Erwin’s room to smell cleaner, but it reeks like the rest of the hospital. He walks over to the bed and sits down on the chair beside it, folding his arms and looking at the sleeping man with distaste.  
“You’ve really outdone yourself this time, idiot,” he whispers beneath his breath. He is sure that Erwin couldn’t hear him, but just to make sure he checks his face for any sounds of recognizing Levi’s voice. None.

Mike died alone. He hears this, not from any person, but from a dry piece of parchment listing out the casualties in black ink.  
Levi is in the room when he reads it, and looks up in concern when he hears the paper crinkle as Erwin folds it neatly into his pocket.  
“What’s wrong?” Levi asks, and Erwin shakes his head.  
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” Erwin says and gives him an unflappable grin.  
“You’re not usually this charming,” Levi says and stretches, catlike in his movements. “And you’re no liar either.”  
Erwin sighs and pulls out the paper from his pocket. “Look for yourself then. I will say though, with everything going on, we don’t have enough resources for a funeral.”  
Levi grimaces and takes the parchment from his hand. His eyes widen, almost imperceptibly as he reads. “The bastard got himself dead, didn’t he?”  
“He died serving humanity. It was a proud death,” Erwin says, the rehearsed speech always in the back of his mind. Glory. Valor. For the sake of humanity. Erwin gives it so often that it is now ingrained into his mind, etched into stone. “We all make sacrifices, Levi. He died defending us, defending hu-”  
“If I hear you mention ‘humanity’ one more time, I’m going to stick this paper up your asshole,” Levi growls and Erwin’s gaze goes back to his paperwork and his lips tighten. Levi glances at Erwin for a moment, apologetic. “Sorry. I’ve heard the spiel more times than I can count. You don’t need to give it to me, I can handle it.”  
“Of course,” Erwin says. “I forgot. I apologize, Levi.”  
Levi nods and sits back on Erwin’s couch, the paper still in his hands. They both retreat back into their thoughts, the silence expressing more than words ever could.  
“He was a great man, wasn’t he, Levi?” Erwin asks and Levi mumbles something that he can barely hear.  
“One of the best.”

 

“So this is it, huh?”  
“No, not really. If I survive, then we’ll be able to get that cottage I always wanted.”  
Levi snorts. “The one with the petunias in the front yard?”  
“The very same. We’d never have to go or have guests or anything. Just us.”  
“Mmm,” hums Levi. “I’d like that. And it wouldn’t ever be sunny, always raining.”  
“What about the garden?” Erwin asks, and grasps Levi tighter in his arms, his black hair tickling at his nose.  
“Well, maybe not all of the time, just most of the time,” Levi says.  
“I think we have a good plan,” Erwin whispers into the back of Levi’s head, stroking Levi’s thigh with his one good hand. “I won’t be here when you wake.”  
“I know,” Levi says and understands.  
“It will be a while. Make sure to keep them safe,” Erwin says and Levi can feel the rumbling inside of Erwin’s chest as he speaks, against Levi’s cool skin.  
They say nothing after that and fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

In the morning, Levi’s skin is like gooseflesh, even though the blanket so carefully wrapped around him should protect him from the cold. He touches the pillow beside him, gently, where once laid a cursed man, now sentenced to death.  
He gets up and puts on his clothes and walks out of the room as silent as it was before.


End file.
